Menu
Trojans' eight-run ninth decides wild 23-15 win at McCook
The Northeastern Junior College baseball team broke open a 15-15 tie in the ninth inning Sunday by scoring eight runs and went on to a 23-15 win over MCC.
The two teams combined for 41 hits as the two teams finish the six-game season series tied at 3-3. Both teams, along with Western Nebraska, remain in contention for a second place finish in the Empire League North Division and a home series to open the post-season tournament.
“We just couldn’t hold them the last one third of today’s game,” said MCC Coach Jon Olsen. “We just kept punching back and punching back but literally everything they hit found a hole.”
MCC had a 9-5 lead after six innings but were out-scored 18-6 in the final three innings.
“We walked five and maybe had one error in a nine-inning game and to give up that many runs just is unusual,” Olsen said.
MCC took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff single by Daniel Bannon (sophomore, Sydney, Australia) and a two-out RBI-single from Josh Maysonave (freshman, Austin, Texas).
The Plainsmen tied the game with a leadoff home run in the second and added four more runs off MCC sophomore starting pitcher Alex Lozada (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) to take a 5-1 lead. Freshman Mikey Acierno (Thornton, Colo.) relieved Lozada with two outs.
MCC chipped away at the lead with two runs in the third. Sophomore Jordan DeMarce (Las Vegas) and Bannon led off with singles and after both runners advanced on a fly ball, sophomore Zack Beatty (Maple Park, Ill.) singled both runners in to cut the NJC lead to 5-3.
In the fifth MCC was able to reclaim the lead scoring five runs again with leadoff singles by DeMarce, Beatty and a walk by sophomore Markus Coronado (Irving, Texas) to load the bases for Beatty who singled home Demarce and Maysonave followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game 5-5. Freshman Riley Watson (Sydney, Australia) singled home Coronado to give the lead back to MCC 6-5. With the bases still loaded sophomore Elijah Munoz (Big Spring, Texas) and freshman Brett Cyprien (Flower Mound, Texas) both walked to make it an 8-5 game.
In the bottom of the sixth MCC added another on a leadoff Coronado single and a two-out single from Watson to put MCC up 9-5.
NJC got a leadoff homerun to start the seventh off Acierno, who was lifted after pitching 4.1 innings, allowing four hits, the one earned run and 10 strikeouts. Reliever Cade Webber faced seven batters and allowed five hits, a walk and one out as NJC took a 12-9 lead. Sophomore Jordan Muschalek (Odessa, Texas) finished out the inning striking the final batter.
MCC scored twice in the bottom of the inning on a double by Brett Cyprien, (Flower Mound, Texas), a triple by Bannon and an RBI single by Coronado to make it a 12-11 game.
NJC scored three in the eight to take a 15-11 lead but MCC batted back in the bottom of the inning. Maysonave led off the inning with a single, Watson doubled, and Oliver Davies (Sydney, Australia) singled in one, Munoz followed with an RBI-single to make it a 15-13 game. After a doubleplay, Davies scored on a passed ball, and DeMarce tied the game on a passed ball.
The Plainsmen had eight hits in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
“I’ll give NJC credit they kept putting good AB’s together, and then a ball bounced over Markus’s head in the ninth inning, when we had a chance to make a play at the plate and keep the game tied, it just spiraled after that,” said Olsen.
MCC had 18 hits on the afternoon. Bannon had a four-hit day, and Watson had three.
MCC goes to 24-26 on the season and 15-16 in the Empire League.
NJC goes to 26-24 and also 16-15 in the Empire League. The Plainsmen host Southeast for three games starting Friday.